Five Things You Need to Know about Convicted Sexual Predator Ghislaine Maxwell and Her Case – Part II
A review of the crimes she was convicted of despite her denials, and a timeline of Trump's ties to Epstein.
The Trump Team has still failed to release the Epstein files. They have, however, moved convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell to the lowest security facility, a prison camp as we detailed in Part 1 last week. Rumors are flying that the Trump regime will release her if she aids in fueling a narrative that exonerates Trump and helps him escape this scandal, whether that narrative is true or merely convenient for both parties. Trump has denied wrongdoing, though his name, as we know, appears in the Epstein files multiple times.
Today, in Part 2, we’re going to review the crimes Maxwell was convicted of committing despite her denials. We’ll also take a closer look at the timeline of Trump’s ties to Epstein.
4. Maxwell’s Crimes Were–and Remain–Very Serious: Trafficking Teen Girls for Sex
Just three years ago, in 2022, Maxwell was convicted of “conspiracy to entice minors to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, conspiracy to transport minors to participate in illegal sex acts, transporting a minor to participate in illegal sex acts, sex trafficking conspiracy, and sex trafficking of a minor.” That verdict and her 20-year prison sentence were recently upheld on appeal.
As the government’s sentencing memo summarized:
“Ghislaine Maxwell played an instrumental role in the horrific sexual abuse of multiple young teenage girls. As part of a disturbing agreement with Jeffrey Epstein, Maxwell identified, groomed, and abused multiple victims, while she enjoyed a life of extraordinary luxury and privilege. In her wake, Maxwell left her victims permanently scarred with emotional and psychological injuries. That damage can never be undone, but it can be accounted for in crafting a just sentence for Maxwell’s crimes.”
This is a woman who, as the career prosecutors noted, has demonstrated an “utter lack of remorse. Instead of showing even a hint of acceptance of responsibility, the defendant makes a desperate attempt to cast blame wherever else she can.“
During the Biden administration, the non-political federal prosecutors pursuing a just sentence for Maxwell for her crimes underscored that Maxwell lived a life of extreme luxury with Epstein and intentionally “made the choice to sexually exploit numerous underage girls. She made the choice to conspire with Epstein for years, working as partners in crime and causing devastating harm to vulnerable victims. She should be held accountable for her disturbing role in an extensive child exploitation scheme.”
But, now with Trump at the helm of the White House, interfering almost daily in the activities of the Justice Department in order to serve his personal interests and desires, DOJ is quite literally making Maxwell’s sentence easier. This is someone who was lawfully convicted of exploiting children. For years. With no remorse. It is monstrous for Trump and his lawyers to be aiding her in any way.
5. Given Trump’s Claims, the Relevant Timeline Is Very Important to Understand
To understand what’s at stake here, as Trump has sought in various ways to distance himself from Epstein and Maxwell, the real timeline is illuminating and damning, in my opinion.
1999: Trump launched Trump Model Management, which employed his future wife, Melania, as a model. (For more on the modeling firms founded by Trump, Epstein, Jean-Luc Brunel, and other associates, take a look at this investigation and this story.)
2000: For part of that year, Virginia Roberts Giuffre was employed at Mar-a-Lago, which she later testified was where Maxwell recruited her to service Epstein, along with other men, like Prince Andrew–though he denied it while also settling the case. Twenty five years later, Trump would go on to assert that he had a falling out with Epstein for “stealing” the 16-year old girl away from his spa. (Prior to her death earlier this year, Giuffre noted that Trump and Epstein were good friends, but that Trump did not flirt with her.)
2002: New York Magazine published a profile of Epstein, as part of which Trump called the financial whiz “a terrific guy,” while simultaneously acknowledging that he likes women “on the younger side.”
2005: Trump married Melania in January, in a wedding celebration attended by both Maxwell and Epstein. Later that year, Trump also told Howard Stern about one of the reasons he liked controlling beauty pageant companies: “I’ll go backstage before a show… and I’m allowed to go in because I’m the owner of the pageant. You know, they’re standing there with no clothes… and so I sort of get away with things like that.” Notably, his “comment echoed real allegations: Tasha Dixon, Miss Arizona USA 2001, said Trump ‘just came strolling right in’ while contestants were changing. Another contestant, Mariah Billado of Miss Teen USA, said he entered their dressing room too — when many girls were still minors.”
2006: In July, 16 months after a 14-year-old girl and her family reported to the Palm Beach County police that Epstein had molested her at his Palm Beach mansion, he was indicted. The FBI also opened an investigation into how many girls he may have victimized.
2007: Epstein’s attorneys tried to secure a non-prosecution agreement with the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Alex Acosta, a George W. Bush nominee. In September, Acosta cut an outrageous deal, which required Epstein to plead guilty to a state charge of solicitation of prostitution instead of facing more serious charges related to the 14-year old girl and other children. Notably, October 2007 is the last time reporters observe that Epstein is listed on records at Mar-a-Lago, where he was listed as “Account closed 10/07”...
2008: In October, after additional wrangling, Epstein pleaded guilty to solicitation, was sentenced to “house” arrest at his Palm Beach mansion, and registered as a sex offender.
2019: After Epstein was indicted by federal prosecutors, Trump claimed to reporters: “I had a falling out a long time ago, I’d say maybe 15 years,” which would have been mid-2004, and yet there are photos of Epstein and Maxwell at Trump’s wedding to Melania after that–as well as reports that Epstein’s account at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club was not closed until October 2007. OnAugust 10, Epstein died in a federal jail cell; the death was ruled a suicide.
2022: Maxwell was convicted in federal court of the charges described above, and a federal judge sentenced her to 20 years in prison, though the Biden Administration sought a longer sentence, as noted in the sentencing recommendation noted below.
2025: The Trump administration moved Maxwell to a low security prison camp after she met with a top DOJ official, who had previously worked as Trump’s criminal defense attorney, as detailed in Part 1 of this column.
What I’m reading:
Key Legal Filings related to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell
If you need more details to combat the Trump-enabling spin machine trying to justify the immoral deal with the devil they are crafting to try to free Trump from this scandal, the Biden administration’s sentencing memo is stomach-churning. It details the truly awful ways in which this evil woman, Ghislaine Maxwell, exploited and abused teenaged girls to give sexual pleasure to Epstein and his friends.
Here is a link to the trial transcript and to the charging document, too (Maxwell was found guilty on five of the six counts). You can also find Virginia Giuffre’s 2016 deposition in the case Maxwell ultimately settled with her, here. Kate Manne also recently detailed the allegations of a young woman who withdrew her complaint after Trump was first elected in 2016.
The criminal complaint against Epstein is available here, and here is the non-prosecution agreement Alex Acosta made with Epstein back in 2007. (I have more details on Acosta’s role in the right-wing court capture machine in my book, Without Precedent.)
Here is the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) report on that deal Acosta cut, detailing his “poor judgment” in letting Epstein basically skate on the charges that 32 girls–almost three dozen minors, at least as of 2006–were abused as part of Epstein’s scheme back then, some of whom were part of the charges against Maxwell, too. In other litigation, Epstein repeatedly pleaded the Fifth Amendment when asked about Maxwell’s role.
The New York Times article about Epstein’s “lair” in Manhattan, which included a sculpture of a young woman in a bridal gown and veil climbing up or down a rope in his foyer–but let’s be clear, what the image implies is a young virgin seemingly trying to escape from someone. That article also notes that Epstein had a first edition of the novel Lolita, which blames a 12-year old for her rapes and the fantasies of a much older man. (The legal age of consent in Florida is 18.)
And, I am still reading the U.S. Constitution.
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